Public suspicious of Shaon, detasting politics
File Photo of Nurunnabi-Chowdhury-Shaon with Tofaiyel-Ahmed
The truth behind what exactly led to ruling party activist Ibrahim ending up with a bullet from an MP's gun in his head threatens to taint the image of the government, and more broadly of politicians, for a long time to come.(UNB)
The onset of Ramadan, with its usual toning down of the intensity in the political arena, might have helped rookie Awami League MP Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shaon to take refuge in a low profile, but talking to members of the public over Monday and Tuesday, UNB found that a cross-section of the public are actually keeping up with the proceedings in the Ibrahim murder case very closely.
Ibrahim, who had been a close associate of Shaon as the MP from Bhola-3 rose through the ranks of the Awami League, died on August 13 after being left at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with a bullet wound to his head.
The DMCH autopsy report that was handed over to the police suspects homicide. Shaon's driver, Kamal Hossain Kala, is now in police custody, along with the lawmaker's personal secretary, Sohel.
But the fact that Shaon has not been formally interrogated in police custody, despite the wealth of evidence that seems to suggest at-least some level of involvement on his part, as well as initial statements provided by those questioned proving comically false, is feeding suspicion that the Bhola MP is being shielded by his position.
"Ibrahim died in Shaon's car. The weapon used belonged to Shaon. They were close, but had a reported fall-out. How can Shaon be above suspicion even? Just because he is an MP?" questioned Khaled Hossen, a local bank employee shopping with his family in Mouchak.
On Monday, a senior lawyer specializing in criminal law also told UNB on condition of anonymity that by dint of owning the murder weapon, Shaon "cannot escape murder charges."
If it were to happen, it would in-fact be the first time in Bangladesh's history that a sitting MP would be remanded in a murder case. This obviously makes the public skeptical.
"Although investigation has to be completed, I think he (Shaon) must be involved," says Nazrul, employed in Dhaka as a household driver, but hailing originally from Tamizuddin in Bhola, part of the constituency Shaon represents.
"The stupid lies they made up about the gun going off accidentally while Ibrahim was playing with it made me laugh, and very suspicious." Nazrul said it was quite believable that Shaon and Ibrahim, after "rising together", had fallen out.
"They're from Bhola, but they did most of their work in Dhaka. Ibrahim himself was no saint, with his involvement in tenderbaji," according to the Bhola man, using the colloquial term to describe manipulation for personal gain in the tender process.
An incredulous look came over the face of Motaleb, a restaurant manager in Nordda, when asked whether he thought Shaon should be remanded.
"Don't you know he is buttressed by power? No chance. The driver and the PS will go on the dock," Motaleb says, before lamenting:
"Politics you see, is today even worse than it used to be. No place for thinking, even scheming to get past your opponent! You just kill them!"
This damning indictment is echoed by others as well, and it is notable how most people found that question laughable. There is a visible disillusionment with the justice system.
Muhibul Haque, sole proprietor of a general store in Malibagh, puts it down to a system gone rotten, but on a note of optimism, he believes justice will prevail, and that Shaon will have to be held answerable. He too has "no doubt" that Shaon was involved in the murder, "whether directly or indirectly."
"Kaan tanle matha ashe (pull an ear, comes the head)," he sums up.
What clearly rankles the public mind is Shaon's failure to come forward and clear his name, and the longer this goes on, the more firmly people will believe his hands aren't clean.
"Where was he when the incident took place? If he wasn't in the car, did he know Ibrahim had taken his car? When did he hear about the murder and why wasn't he the one to file a case if he was so close to Ibrahim?" implored Khaled Hossen, the banker. These are all pertinent questions that remain unanswered.
Inevitably perhaps, some invoke Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's election promise of "din bodol" (times changing), and how it doesn't ring true anymore.
"I am reminded of the murder commited by the Bashundhara Group director, and how the BNP regime, all the way up to Khaleda Zia, were involved in the cover-up," said Shafiq Khan, a marketing executive at one of the country's leading mobile networks.
Clearly as frustrated with the political process as everyone else, he is appalled, but finds it symbolic of the "murderous, extortionist and corrupt" form of our politics that even the hallowed grounds of the parliamentary complex, where the incident took place, has not been spared now.
It is difficult to disagree with any of them, as long as the truth continues to hide itself. What is plainly apparent is that nobody is buying the pathetic stories cooked up in the beginning. Those who hoped to gain by those blatant lies may have taken the people for fools, or at best, indifferent. That is far from the case. The public may not be expecting much, but they are discerning, and they do care. It is important now that their caring is rewarded with justice.
The onset of Ramadan, with its usual toning down of the intensity in the political arena, might have helped rookie Awami League MP Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shaon to take refuge in a low profile, but talking to members of the public over Monday and Tuesday, UNB found that a cross-section of the public are actually keeping up with the proceedings in the Ibrahim murder case very closely.
Ibrahim, who had been a close associate of Shaon as the MP from Bhola-3 rose through the ranks of the Awami League, died on August 13 after being left at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with a bullet wound to his head.
The DMCH autopsy report that was handed over to the police suspects homicide. Shaon's driver, Kamal Hossain Kala, is now in police custody, along with the lawmaker's personal secretary, Sohel.
But the fact that Shaon has not been formally interrogated in police custody, despite the wealth of evidence that seems to suggest at-least some level of involvement on his part, as well as initial statements provided by those questioned proving comically false, is feeding suspicion that the Bhola MP is being shielded by his position.
"Ibrahim died in Shaon's car. The weapon used belonged to Shaon. They were close, but had a reported fall-out. How can Shaon be above suspicion even? Just because he is an MP?" questioned Khaled Hossen, a local bank employee shopping with his family in Mouchak.
On Monday, a senior lawyer specializing in criminal law also told UNB on condition of anonymity that by dint of owning the murder weapon, Shaon "cannot escape murder charges."
If it were to happen, it would in-fact be the first time in Bangladesh's history that a sitting MP would be remanded in a murder case. This obviously makes the public skeptical.
"Although investigation has to be completed, I think he (Shaon) must be involved," says Nazrul, employed in Dhaka as a household driver, but hailing originally from Tamizuddin in Bhola, part of the constituency Shaon represents.
"The stupid lies they made up about the gun going off accidentally while Ibrahim was playing with it made me laugh, and very suspicious." Nazrul said it was quite believable that Shaon and Ibrahim, after "rising together", had fallen out.
"They're from Bhola, but they did most of their work in Dhaka. Ibrahim himself was no saint, with his involvement in tenderbaji," according to the Bhola man, using the colloquial term to describe manipulation for personal gain in the tender process.
An incredulous look came over the face of Motaleb, a restaurant manager in Nordda, when asked whether he thought Shaon should be remanded.
"Don't you know he is buttressed by power? No chance. The driver and the PS will go on the dock," Motaleb says, before lamenting:
"Politics you see, is today even worse than it used to be. No place for thinking, even scheming to get past your opponent! You just kill them!"
This damning indictment is echoed by others as well, and it is notable how most people found that question laughable. There is a visible disillusionment with the justice system.
Muhibul Haque, sole proprietor of a general store in Malibagh, puts it down to a system gone rotten, but on a note of optimism, he believes justice will prevail, and that Shaon will have to be held answerable. He too has "no doubt" that Shaon was involved in the murder, "whether directly or indirectly."
"Kaan tanle matha ashe (pull an ear, comes the head)," he sums up.
What clearly rankles the public mind is Shaon's failure to come forward and clear his name, and the longer this goes on, the more firmly people will believe his hands aren't clean.
"Where was he when the incident took place? If he wasn't in the car, did he know Ibrahim had taken his car? When did he hear about the murder and why wasn't he the one to file a case if he was so close to Ibrahim?" implored Khaled Hossen, the banker. These are all pertinent questions that remain unanswered.
Inevitably perhaps, some invoke Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's election promise of "din bodol" (times changing), and how it doesn't ring true anymore.
"I am reminded of the murder commited by the Bashundhara Group director, and how the BNP regime, all the way up to Khaleda Zia, were involved in the cover-up," said Shafiq Khan, a marketing executive at one of the country's leading mobile networks.
Clearly as frustrated with the political process as everyone else, he is appalled, but finds it symbolic of the "murderous, extortionist and corrupt" form of our politics that even the hallowed grounds of the parliamentary complex, where the incident took place, has not been spared now.
It is difficult to disagree with any of them, as long as the truth continues to hide itself. What is plainly apparent is that nobody is buying the pathetic stories cooked up in the beginning. Those who hoped to gain by those blatant lies may have taken the people for fools, or at best, indifferent. That is far from the case. The public may not be expecting much, but they are discerning, and they do care. It is important now that their caring is rewarded with justice.
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